March 5, 2008

Provo, UT (UWIRE) -- Hopes for a winning season fluttered out Wyoming's windows weeks ago. The Cowboys are second to last in the Mountain West Conference, and with two losses to every one win on their league resume, the odds aren't terrific that tonight will be any different.

Then again, in coming to play the league's shrewdest team on the league's shrewdest court, they've got nothing to lose, and pride-salvaging villainy to gain. The Cougars (23-6, 12-2 MWC) have a great deal riding on tonight's matchup: the conference championship, a decent NCAA Tournament bid, the nation's longest current home winning streak and the possibility of collecting more regular season wins than any other Cougar squad in BYU history. Who will be more nervous?

An upset of those proportions might take the edge off a losing record for the Cowboys (12-16, 5-10) as they wrap up their regular season in the Marriott Center at 8 p.m. tonight. After winning a road game at Colorado State and a home game against Utah last week, they might have the momentum for such a staccato finish.

"Tell [Trent] Plaisted I'm coming for him," Wyoming senior forward Joseph Taylor said to reporters after toasting Utah in the last home game of his career. A week ago that could be called a brash threat coming from a guy who had averaged a shade under five points in his last five games.

Last week, however, Taylor averaged 16.5 points on 13-19 shooting, with two blocks and 1.5 steals to boot. He also averaged 7.5 rebounds in those two games, so he's definitely capable of keeping BYU's Plaisted busy on the boards. His efforts earned him MWC Player of the Week honors this week.

"He said that?" Plaisted said when asked about Taylor's taunt. "Well good for him. Obviously he is a good player and he's got a lot of good things he does, but we will see. It's Senior Night for us and we have a lot of things to play for, so hopefully we will come out strong and win."

"Both of them [Burgess and Murdock] are just terrific competitors, and as tough of players as I've coached at any level, anywhere," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "They come everyday and they're consistent. If they're hurt, you don't know about it, and then when you want to know about them being hurt, you can't get anything out of them. They just want to play every day."

Burgess and Murdock average 8.5 and 4.5 points per game, respectively. Ivanovic was averaging 3.3 points per game on 57 percent shooting before his injury in early January, and Burgess has knocked down 47 threes this season while Murdock has racked up a team-leading 112 assists. The Cougar defense and quick transition offense depend heavily on those guards, Rose said.

"I think that those guys [Burgess and Murdock] really make them go," Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. "They don't make very many mistakes, they knock down open shots, they understand their roles. I think they're a huge, huge deal."

Fans can watch tonight's game on the Mtn.

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